Hi guys, would like to seek your viewpoint on “long-term career planning”. Currently, I'm in a career break mode and seeking job in a tough economic environment. Realistically speaking, there are not many headcounts available. Thus I have applied to a wide range of firms (as experts suggested), and I plan to pick the best offer I can get within the next 1-2 months. 

I have now got an offer from Accenture Strategy in the US. At the same time, I'm still interviewing for corporate strategy roles and consulting firms in the Middle East. While I'm happy with the offer, the only concern is that I am not sure whether I am really passionate about digital topics, since I have never worked on large digital transformation projects. It is most certainly that most projects would be digital-focused. Thus, I'm kind of switching my career path from general strategy consulting to specialized digital topics.

My current feeling is to take the offer and stick to the firm for at least 3 - 5 years, and “develop” my expertise and interest in digital topics along the way. Given my age and ranking, this “next move” is quite crucial in shaping my future career. Also, given my jumpy career history, I don't want to switch career paths in the next 3 - 5 years. My aim is to really find a field where I can start to specialize and develop expertise.

My career decision criteria (ranked by importance), are:

1. Location (US is my first choice, but I could consider other locations, though not preferred)

2. Career stability 

3. Enjoy the work that I do

4. Financial benefits

5. Brand name

Given your experience and the context that I have shared, do you think this choice makes sense? Anything that I should take in mind when I decide which firm & position should I take? Not many choices at this point, so I guess I will need to compromise “dream job” vs. “practicality” a bit.

 Would be grateful to hear your thoughts regarding this long-term career planning topic.